All Fall Down
by A Fool With Hot Chocolate
Summary: AU.  How do you tell the love of your life that you're dying?  Easy...you don't.  Sora finds out the hard way that nothing in life is so simple, and Riku realizes that time is all he has.  RikuSora, LeonCloud
1. Chapter 1

Pairings: Riku/Sora, Leon/Cloud, mentioned past Cloud/Aerith

Summary: College student Sora Strife goes to the hospital when he realizes that his bruises aren't fading, and that the small scrapes he received after tripping bleed too much to be normal. The results of the tests aren't so wonderful. Now, how to tell his best friend and roommate, Riku Teguchi, that he's dying… (Easy. He doesn't.)

Songs: 'Tears of an Angel' by Ryan Dan, 'Need You Now' by Lady Antebellum, 'Everything' by Lifehouse, 'The Walk' by Imogen Heap, 'You Look So Fine' by Garbage, 'My Sweet Prince' by Placebo, 'In My Head' by No Doubt

* * *

_Chapter One_

_

* * *

_

It always happens to those who least expect it.

The disease was one he was quite familiar with. It came out of nowhere and tore you to pieces, leaving you to die a slow and agonizing death.

The tumor was supposed to be gone. They said it hadn't spread far and that the cancer cells would easily be killed with the new treatment they developed. It had been years, _13 years, _since he'd had the surgery to remove it. He only went through a year's worth of chemo. He was safe, they said.

What a bunch of lies.

It was coming back and this time it brought disease with it. Fucking leukemia. _Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, _if he wanted to get specific. He didn't think it would happen to him. No one ever thinks it will happen to them. But there he was, sitting on his hospital bed as his mother sobbed. His older brother Cloud held his hand tightly, almost too tightly, but it helped him remember that he was still there, that he was still alive.

"Hey Mom, Cloud…do you think you can leave for a bit? I…I want some time alone." He said. His mother looked up at him with wet, swollen eyes but she nodded and waited for Cloud to stand before leaving the room. Cloud looked like he was going to say something, but he turned away and hurried out as well. The hospital room was quiet, except for the soft humming of the medical equipment.

"Fuck." Sora choked as he pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes, trying to stop the tears. But it didn't keep his shoulders from shaking as he sobbed.

* * *

Monthly lumbar punctures. That meant they would be sticking a needle into his spine and drawing fluids out. Tons of different medications and chemotherapy. If things got worse, maybe even a bone-marrow transplant. They were going to run a few more blood tests and take a bone-marrow sample before releasing him. It was lucky that it was a Saturday. As a college student, Sora couldn't really afford to miss too much school. As it was he was already going to have to scramble to finish his assignments. They weren't releasing him until Sunday afternoon.

"Hey, Sora. Mind if I come in?" Sora glanced over at the door. Cloud stood there awkwardly, wearing his work clothes and carrying his briefcase. He must have come straight from the office. Sora felt guilty and looked down at his hands.

"N-no, I don't mind. Please come in." Cloud shut the door behind him and gingerly sat down on the hard chair that was next to Sora's hospital bed

"You don't need to be so polite, you know. We are brothers." Cloud murmured, a half-smile on his face as he relaxed into the chair. Sora smiled faintly back at him but didn't reply. Cloud sighed as he realized Sora wasn't going to say anything. "Sora, I need to know…what your plans are. Do you want to stay in college? Or will you go back to live with Mom? You know what the chemo does to you. And with the added stress of the lumbar punctures…"

"I'm going to stay in college." Sora said firmly, cutting Cloud off.

"But—"

"No 'buts' Cloud. I'm staying and that's final. I'm not letting this ruin my life. I'll make sure to take my meds and make it to all my chemo and lumbar appointments." The younger brother stated, his eyes hard and his expression one of determination. His face softened as he caught the concern in Cloud's eyes. "I just…I don't want to focus my life on this. I'll regret it forever if I just give up now. I just started my second year at the university, and I'm supposed to be starting my job at that café you always visit next week."

"I know, it's just that…it's hard. That first time, when you had that tumor, it was terrifying. And now this…"

"Believe me, I know exactly how you feel." Sora replied, somewhat amused. He grinned at his brother when Cloud realized what he meant and muttered an apology. "It's fine. Now, why don't you go home and change? I can't believe you came straight here after work." The brunette shooed Cloud out of the room, glaring at him playfully when he looked back.

Sora sighed and leaned back into his pillow. Despite common belief, the bed was actually pretty comfortable. The doctors knew better than to give their patients lumpy, hard beds. It was even one of those number ones, were he could choose how soft or firm he wanted it to be. He amused himself with the bed remote until there was a knock on his door. He called out that it was okay to come in, and the doctor walked into the room.

"Hey Leon." Sora said casually. Leon scowled at him, but it was halfhearted.

"Call me Dr. Leonhart when I'm working, Sora. It's not very professional to be called by my first name by a brat like you." The older man grumbled as he checked Sora's IV drip and flipped through the clipboard at the end of his bed. Sora watched with interest as Leon suddenly flopped down onto the chair Cloud had been using just minutes before.

"What's up? Rough day?" Sora asked sympathetically. Leon covered his face with his hands and let out a deep sigh.

"You could say that. Actually, it concerns you, Sora." Sora blinked in surprise and laughed a little nervously.

"Me? Well, I guess the whole leukemia thing is a bit of a shock to you too, I mean no one really expected—"

"Sora." Leon interrupted.

"…Yes?" Sora asked after a moment of silence, feeling as awkward as Leon looked.

"You…you need to brace yourself for this. We ran a few more tests, and looked over the MRI results from last night. It…wasn't very good." There was another awkward silence before Sora cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably.

"So…were you going to tell me what exactly 'wasn't very good' about it?"

"Sora, I'm really sorry…but the cancer is spreading very quickly. It went for so long without being checked that it had time to grow. I've spoken with the other doctors, and…it's been decided that with the treatment we've prescribed, you have a maximum of five years. At this point, you are estimated to have maybe two years at most." More silence, though this one was less awkward than it was horrifying. Leon wouldn't meet Sora's eyes.

"Oh…oh, God. God, no." The air left his lungs in one breath, like someone had knocked the wind out of him. He suddenly felt detached from everything, like he was having an out-of-body experience.

"Sora…? Sora? Sora! Fucking hell. Rinoa! Get a bag for Sora immediately! Sora, calm down!" He heard Leon's voice faintly beyond the sound of his own hyperventilating. Everything was blurry, fading between black and pinpricks of color. Something was placed against his face and he panicked. The voices became quieter, quieter…until they were silent, and all Sora saw was darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

I would like to thank all those who added this story to their alerts and their favorites. I would especially like to thank those who reviewed for taking the time to write to me. I appreciate it greatly, and I hope that you enjoy this new chapter.

I'm updating early because I don't know if I will have time on February 1st, since I have a lot going on that day. Early updates will not happen often, only if I will be busy during my usual update time and I have the chapter already finished. I know for a fact that my April 1st update will not be on time and may, in fact, be delayed by about a week. The March 1st update should be on schedule.

* * *

_Chapter Two_

_

* * *

_

He hadn't moved since he woke up that morning. Someone came in earlier to check his vitals and give him breakfast, but since then no one had stopped by. It must be really early, Sora thought, or his family would have already stopped to check in on him. Even Leon hadn't dropped by yet. With an exasperated sigh Sora rolled over onto his side, facing the door. The little window next to the door was covered by a blind, so he couldn't see out into the hallway. Sora scowled and pulled his sheets up over his face. If only there was a clock.

He hadn't thought much about his…predicament. He didn't want to think about it at all, really, but with something like that looming over him it was hard to avoid it for too long. He just didn't want to see how his family was taking it. He had given Leon permission to call his mother, had practically begged him to, because Sora didn't want the responsibility of telling his mother something like that.

The door opened and through his sheet Sora the silhouette of a spiky haired figure enter, then close the door behind them. Sora held his breathe and shut his eyes, trying to relax his body. The sheet was gently pulled away from his face and Sora felt a warm hand cover his forehead.

"I know you're awake, Sora." Cloud's soft voice had a grim ring to it, and Sora slowly opened his eyes to meet the pale, haggard face of his older brother.

"Hey Cloudy…" Sora said in a small voice. He allowed himself to be gathered up in his brother's arms, feeling unbelievably fragile. "Where's Mom?" He asked after a moment of silence. He couldn't see Cloud's face from the angle he was laying at, but he felt the arms around him tense.

"She's going to be here in little bit. She wanted to talk to Le—Dr. Leonhart." Sora noticed how Cloud caught himself saying Leon's first name and smiled a bit. So Cloud still had that crush. He could use that to his advantage later on.

"I see. Well, I guess there's a lot to talk about, huh." The brunette shrugged, and when he was practically shoved back into his bed he realized that he had made a mistake in acting so nonchalant.

"Sora! You can't just pretend everything is fine and go on like you aren't—you aren't-!" Cloud stumbled at the end, so Sora coldly picked up where his older brother left off.

"Dying? Cloud, I can't just drop everything and—and act like it's the end of the world! It's not! I have two years at least, five years if the treatment works out! That's enough time to finish college and maybe make a difference in the time I've still got! There's still—there's still so much I need to do…" He trailed off as their mother entered the room, followed by Leon.

"Mrs. Strife, I—"

"Leon, dear, I've told you to call me Garnet before and I'll keep telling you to until you finally get it through that thick skull of yours."The older woman said affectionately, making Leon flush with embarrassment. " Now, I'd like some time alone with my sons." Leon had a sour expression on his face, but he complied with the older woman's wishes and left the room. Garnet turned her weary eyes on her sons and Cloud quickly gave up his chair for her. She tiredly sat down and took Sora's hands in her own. Until that moment, Sora hadn't realized how badly his hands were shaking.

"Sora, dear…this is your life. If you want to continue college, then do it. Never give up." She cracked a faint smile. "Your father left us enough money to keep us going for a long time; it's no trouble to pay for your tuition as well as…treatment." That's right, Sora thought, they'd never had to worry about money. His father, Zidane, had been a famous performer before he died in an accident during one of his dagger shows. He had left them enough money to live comfortably for at least a century, even longer since the family was content to live in an average house and neighborhood. He didn't need to worry about paying for treatment if he wanted to continue college. He smiled dimly.

"Thanks, Mom. I don't want to cause trouble, but…I'm 19, starting my sophomore year of college…there's a lot I'd like to do while there's still time. And who knows? The treatment could kill the disease off, or I could have surgery to remove part of the tumor. I could still get better." He wasn't sure who he was trying to console: himself or his mother. Cloud was standing quietly in the corner of the room, staring at the door with a completely blank expression.

"Like I said, sweetie. It's your choice. I'll support you in everything you do. Now, Cloud, get your little butt over here and join us in a group hug." The eldest Strife child managed a weak smile as he went to join his family on Sora's bed. "Also, Sora, I brought your homework with me so you can work on it while you're here."

"Uh…gee…thanks, Mom…"

"You're very welcome, sweetie."

* * *

The dorm was unusually warm, probably because neither he nor Riku had turned the air conditioning on before they went their separate ways for the weekend. Sora sighed and opened the window, allowing the evening chill into the room. It would take a little while for the room to cool down to a normal temperature but he could deal with it for now. Sora set his bag on top of his bed and glanced around the room. It didn't look like Riku had gotten back yet. That meant he could get some time to unpack before the older boy came back and distracted him.

It was Sunday evening. Sora had rushed back to his dorm after being released from the hospital a little later than he'd expected. He had finished all of his homework while he was in the hospital, fortunately, so that meant he was going to have time to relax. Well, after he finished unpacking, that is. With a heavy sigh Sora unzipped his bag, dumping the contents out onto his bed. Might as well get it over with.

As he was putting his things away, Sora accidentally slammed his elbow into his side table. Cursing loudly, he began to pick up all the things that had been knocked to the floor. One of the things that had fallen was an older, somewhat dusty picture frame. Sora blew the dust off, and stared at the picture.

It was himself and Riku, ages 8 and 9 respectively, with their arms around each other's shoulders. Sora took in his younger self's wide grin and the huge gap between his front teeth, and Riku's half-smirk and pale face that stayed practically white no matter how much sun he got. He remembered the day they took that picture. They were at the summer fair and Riku had won him a goldfish from the game where you had to use a paper net to catch the fish. He'd never been very good at that, and admittedly Riku wasn't either, but he'd won his first fish and gave it to Sora. That fish, later named Kipper, managed to live for nearly two years. Sora smiled faintly and set the picture down on the table. If only things were as simple now.

"Hey, Sora! You're back! How was your weekend at home?" Sora jumped as he heard the door open and quickly turned around to come face to face with Riku. The older boy was smiling somewhat bemusedly at him.

"O-oh, hey Riku! It was good, but I got sick, so…" Sora trailed off, laughing a little nervously. Riku looked him over carefully, making Sora squirm uncomfortably.

"Yeah, you still look a bit pale. That sucks though. You must have caught the bug that was going around last week, huh?" Riku said, trying to sound nonchalant. Sora heard the concern in his voice and hid a smile by looking down at Riku's bag.

"How was your weekend, Riku?" He asked, and Riku brightened before chattering away about his great visit to his older brother. Sora just smiled at him, only half paying attention.

How would he tell Riku, his best friend (and quite coincidently—or perhaps not so surprisingly—the love of his life), that he was dying? Simple. He wouldn't.

_-end chapter two-_

Yes, I used Garnet from FFIX. I always liked her, even though I haven't had the chance to play the game~ And I just giggle at the thought of Zidane being Sora and Cloud's dad. He'd be the most awkward dad ever, if not incredibly amusing. Well, at least we know where Cloud got his blond hair from? And since neither Garnet nor Zidane were terribly tall, it also explains Cloud and Sora's shorter statures.


	3. Apology

My apologies for not updating. A lot has happened and honestly I don't know when I'll be posting again. A good friend of mine died recently and unexpectedly, and school is coming to an end while I scramble to keep things together. I hope to update over the summer. Thank you all for your patience.

Sincerely,

Fool


End file.
